Friday, July 5, 2013

Creative Satisfaction

My wife tells me that I don't know how to rest. I suppose it's true. Many of my friends tell me the same thing. My idea of simple rest is creating a new bird house design or developing a modification for our home. When I'm really on the jazz, it's designing something new that will bring the world to tears with it's creativity, ingenuity and simplicity. To be honest, I haven't created that "tear jerking" design yet. But, I'm sure it's just around the corner! Maybe this weekend!

When I was young, I worked for a lead engineer that must have shared my passion for inventing the "better than sex" design. Jerry Liebst changed every design right up till drawing release. Once manufacturing had the design, then he began re-designing! He was never satisfied that the design was complete. The design could always be better, simpler, cheaper. At the time, that man drove me crazy. But, oh how much I learned from him.

If you are a real creative, you know what I'm talking about. YOU ARE NEVER SATISFIED WITH YOUR DESIGN. In the worst of circumstance, you can't rest because there's always something better just around the bend. "Just a few more hours and my design will be the bomb!" 

So, what are we to do? How can we find satisfaction in a creative world that is never finished? Although not a perfect recipe, hopefully these five ideas help:
  1. Recognize that this is a broken world, we were created to cultivate and develop it. Understand and embrace the fact that cultivation will never be complete. But, if we make it better than we found it, we can take satisfaction in this.
  2. Most inventions are simply improvements on others ideas. If we understand that the creative juices that flow from us can be the spring board for the next great idea, we can realize that even our "best intentions" and "incomplete works" contribute to the end game. 
  3. Find joy in teaching and developing others. Liebst was a pain in the ---! His continual changes drove me crazy. But, he taught me to find the simple solution, always look for improvements, and never stop trying. I believe that he found a lot of satisfaction when I learned this lesson. And, these lessons made me into a very good designer.
  4. Remember that creativity is a team sport. We all learn from one another and we better each other. Find ways to collaborate and make each other better. 
  5. Enjoy the journey and realize that creativity is not a destination ... it is the trip of a life time.
I welcome your thoughts!

No comments:

Post a Comment